Auschwitz launches Facebook page

16 October 2009 - 7.30am update: The Auschwitz museum Facebook page is up again. We will try to reach Museum officials to learn what happened.

15 October 2009 - 3.30pm update: The Auschwitz museum Facebook page now appears to have been taken down. We are trying to get back in contact with museum staff to find out what's happened. More details soon ...

"There is only one thing worse than Auschwitz itself…and that is if the world forgets there was such a place." This remark by Henry Appel, an Auschwitz survivor, is taken really seriously by the staff of the Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. To reach out to a younger generation, the museum at the site of the Nazi death camp, has launched an official page on Facebook – and has gained 1,350 fans within its first two days.

"The majority of the attendance of the Auschwitz memorial are students and other young people," explains an official from Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, Pawel Sawicki. "Our mission is not only teach them about the history, but to be responsible in the world of today. We should find every possible way to reach out, so why shouldn't we use the same tool in that young people use to communicate?"

Auschwitz-Birkenau, which is in Poland, was established by Germans in 1940 and became the largest of the death camps, where millions died, most of them Jews. The memorial and museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau tries to keep the memory alive. It has been active on the web for more than 10 years now with its homepage providing information about the museum as well as displaying archive material and asking survivors to get in touch.

"Naturally, our Facebook site is different from our website focusing on the historical facts," says Sawicki. "There are many ways we can use this interactive medium. We're still learning how to use this tool." At the moment, the Facebook page initiates discussions – there is currently one on the subject of the Auschwitz memorial and Facebook – and provides pictures of an historical railway carriage on the ramp at Birkenau. The museum uses its Facebook status field to recall important historical events. This morning it was updated with the posting: "65 years ago (on Oct 15, 1944) the number of female prisoners at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau was 34317."

To prevent any abuse of the site, the museum keeps an eye on everything that is posted. "It is a moderated site," says Sawicki. "There is a group of administrators who will delete everything that is not suitable and against the spirit of the place. But we want to be open. We will try to add discussions. Of course, we can lock ourselves in the memorial, but the internet is used by other institutions. I don't really see a reason why we should take a pass. I think everybody understands this."